Oct 25, 2011

Merkozy, Berlusconi and the Bella Vita

The French and
German leaders – now dubbed 'Merkozy' – exchanged glances and smiled when
asked if they were confident Berlusconi would come up with reforms, prompting a
gale of laughter from journalists: see the CLIP.

Leading daily Corriere
della Sera , which has criticised Mr. Berlusconi for delaying the
economic stimulus package demanded by Europe, called the behaviour of Dr Merkel
and Mr Sarkozy “excessive” in a front-page editorial, adding: “For an Italian
it was not great, and it matters little if you are pro- or anti-Berlusconi.”
“No one is authorised to ridicule Italy, even after Berlusconi’s obvious and
embarrassing delays in tackling the crisis,” said Pier Ferdinando Casini, the
head of the opposition UDC party, adding: “I didn’t like Sarkozy’s sarcastic
smile.” It seems that Germany and France have their own problems too: DebtBurden Falls Heavily on Germany and France; anyhow: Italy's DownwardSpiral Accelerates and theBella Vita lifestyle seemsto fall apart.